Reliable to a T
by sneekymagee
Summary: She always makes the right decisions and he’s all too willing to trust that. KirkXOC Strange silly Crack ONESHOT.


Okay, yeah I have no idea where this came from (Probably from the amazing performance hotness of Mr Fine and my own self-insert day dreams. Ha ha.) But I started and nearly finished it like a month ago and it's been floating around in the back of my mental box of stuff to do ever since. There are probably a million grammar mistakes (I have no BETA) so feel free to point them out but I may not end up changing them because I have no plan to revisit this. :D Anyway I'm a little iffy about the ending but whatever. A One-shot kirk/OC story would never make much sense anyway.

Enjoy (Reviews=Love)

* * *

RELIABLE TO A T

* * *

SUMMARY – She always makes the right decisions and he's all too willing to trust that. Set some time shortly after the 2009 movie.

RATING –T (Mild language and adult themes)

GENRE – Humor/CRACK/Romance

PAIRINGS – KirkXOC

LENGTH – This is it!

WARNINGS – SEVERE BRAIN MELTING MAY OCCUR FROM SEVERE CRACKYNESS

* * *

"Apples or oranges?"

She starts as the deep voice floats near her ears, the apple she had been examining nearly dropping from her hand as she turns towards the voice. She frowns as she turns, but she recognizes his voice before recognizing his face.

"It's good manners to introduce yourself you know." She says tersely as she pops the ripe fruit into her small carry basket.

A smug smirk graces his face. He knows she knows who he is, and she wonders why he thinks she cares.

"Kirk. _Captain_ Kirk" He lets the title sink it, painfully reminding her that she is technically his subordinate and as such cannot give him the cold shoulder. She pauses for a moment, carefully calculating her next move, he's smooth she knows that much from the gossip that leaks into _Enterprise's_ engineering deck, but they have barely spoken two words in the two years since she joined. The words 'ulterior motive' come to mind but she answers regardless.

"Miranda. Charmed, I'm sure." He laughs, a deep resounding sound at her deadpan and proceeds to dangle the fruit in front of her face. She manages a small smile as she points lightly at the right hand fruit.

"Apples."

He nods with an almost approving air, though she cannot imagine why and moves away to place the orange back in its case. She can't deny his presence in the small supermarket is totally unexpected, she never thought he'd ever be buying groceries. And if he did it would be in some swanky _captains_ supermarket. But then here he is, standing on the other side of the large table of fruit, staring down at the apple in his hand thoughtfully. _Well at least he's decided on a snack._ She glances down at the list in her hand and almost swears when a large crunch resonates across the space between him and her.

"Mmmm," he says grinning at her fright with the bitten apple in his hand. "Delicious."

She stares at him like he's got two heads. She has no idea why he is being like this, not that she knows what he's like normally. She barely sees him save for the occasional captains address or his visits to the engineering deck to talk with Scotty. She _hears _him a lot more than she sees him but she would never admit that she likes the sound of his voice. In a way they really have no reason to be here, together deciding on fruit. She wonders if he is flirting with her in some strange, round about way. But since she has never really been the object of much desire she wouldn't know.

And then why would he flirt with her? He's known of her existence for two years and hasn't made any kind of move so why start now? Though she naturally assumes that they would have very little in common and as such not be suited as any more than acquaintances, and barely even that. She stops herself; too many questions.

"You're good at picking fruit, you know." He winks at her and bites the apple suggestively. She looks at him with narrowed eyes.

"That's stupid, how can I be good at picking fruit?" The smug mask of superiority slips for a second, as he looks slightly surprised. But then he laughs lightly and gives the apple another bite. Still with that annoying smirk plastered all over his face.

"I don't know, but you are perfect." She starts her heart racing a little trying to work out if she heard right or if maybe her ears are being blocked somehow by the cold rush of air that comes from the meat safe she is standing next to. But that is physically impossible. She would know. He looks even more amused at her shocked expression. "At picking fruit I mean." And he winks at her again.

She pauses as he grins. She almost says something cool, a witty comeback, something to stop the winsome joker from embarrassing her any further but all she can manage is a small;

"Well bye!"

He doesn't stop her as she turns to go, and she doesn't protest. But she manages to miss the flicker of disappointment that flits across his face as she turns. She walks fast. It's a very odd experience and she wonders what exactly just happened. She panics for a minute as she turns into another isle that maybe he is annoyed at her for blowing him off, maybe his male pride is injured, and maybe he's going to make her life a living hell. But then she remembers that she's not in high school and neither is he and failed pickup is hardly going to illicit such a harsh response. (If it is even that.) Surely he's been rejected before, or maybe he hasn't and she's just a weird, ugly mole. But then again who appointed Kirk as the decider of shagability? She relaxes; deciding that it's probably better that Kirk thinks she's weird. Her chance of unexpected pregnancy has probably dropped by 80% already. But she still can't imagine why he'd actually _want_ to shag her. Again, too many questions, always too many questions. She curses lightly startling an old woman who frowns disapprovingly at her and by the time her round of the shop is finished the remnants of his voice and smirk are already starting to disappear. She can't say she minds. It was all too weird for her to comprehend and her brain hardly needs more crap to deal with.

* * *

"Milk or Soda."

She glares at him as her bag drops to the ground next to the bench. She sits at the long lunch table and pulls out a pile of paper Scotty has so lovingly asked her organize. She'd do it in the engineering deck but her eyes are drooping and she needs caffeine. (Plus Scotty has a 'lady friend' over and she doesn't think she could cope with the sounds of his illicit unions coming from the small room Scotty has appointed his own (He claims he needs to be close to his 'babies') As far as she's concerned he'd better be careful or there will be more babies running around and not the engineering kind. Distracted by her strange direction of thought she jumps when her moves closer.

"Well which one of these babies will I be devouring tonight?" He stands there with a look of amusement-come-sincerity on his face, and with bottles in both hands. If it hadn't been ruled out in humankind she'd have sworn he'd read her mind and was mocking her.

"Soda," she doesn't feel like playing around. He seems disappointed in her early surrender but nods once, smiles and cracks open the can placing the milk back in the chiller in the wall. She watches as his Adams apple bobs up and down, once again wondering why he was speaking to her again for the first time since the _supermarket incident_. He sits opposite her after gulping down half the can.

"You know you're unusually placid tonight." He smirks, like he always does. She decides a direct approach is best.

"What do you _want_?" She says it low despite the fact it is only they in the kitchen quarters, as if it is some big conspiracy. He looks falsely shocked at the demand and places a hand over his chest.

"Oh me? Well," he laughs lightly. "I just wanted to enjoy a delicious can of soda is all." He gulps again giving her a piercing stare from behind the can. She finds herself torn between amusement and annoyance but gets up to get herself a cup of hot coffee to stop her from doing anything rash. The smell calms her and she leans on the bench while it's being prepared and looks at him. He's not facing her but she can tell by the stoop of his holders that he is tired. After all it is 11pm and they've been on the ship all day. She can't imagine that sitting in a chair all day is that tiring but the emotional and mental stress is probably enormous. The machine dings with her coffee but she ignores it and walks over to him silently.

His hair is surprisingly soft as she runs her hands through it. He stiffens but doesn't say anything. Her hands find his head's pressure points expertly and press gently down in sequence memorized through years of stressed out roommates. She knows it is perfect for stress and is amused by the willingness of Kirk. It takes hardly a minute but by the end he is putty in her hands. She finds it ironic that the least sexually active woman on the ship is wooing the most sexually active man on the ship. Talk about roll reversal. She is surprised she is even doing it, it's not like she massages almost strangers on a regular basis. It is certainly not a habit. She thinks that maybe she subconsciously wants to weird him out as much as he's done to her. But she is good at it, both wierding and massaging, because he makes a low voice in his throat and she decides, blushing that she should probably stop. Grabbing her coffee quickly she sits back down and takes a sip. His eyes are still closed but when he speaks she is secretly please to hear the note of relief in his voice.

"God, where'd you learn to do that?" She puts down her coffee in favor of a biscuit lying on a large platter and grins, although he cannot see her.

"My father's a physiotherapist." She says it easily as she nibbles on the biscuit. Kirk opens his eyes and looks at her with relief in his eyes.

"I must send him a thank you card then," he grins as she laughs. And the words start spilling out.

"As lame as it sounds he'd actually like that, he loves helping people and he's a great dad." Kirk smiles sadly and takes a sip of soda. She realizes her faux par and wonders if she should apologize. But she reasons that he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would want her sympathy, so she offers him a biscuit.

"What are these?" he examines it closely as the tray waggles slightly under his nose.

"Macadamia and coconut," she laughs as he takes a bite, and a look of complete contentment that erupts on his face.

"God I swear you are exactly what I need right now, cookies, massages. Definitely my dream girl." She blushes before hiding behind her cup trying in vain to hide from his amused gaze.

"Oh I'm hardly a dream girl, I just know what guys like in the way of food, I've got a lot of brothers." Kirk looks interested. "Tell me about them," she pauses but he looks at her encouragingly, small crumbs of biscuits falling as he munches away on the snack looking laughably interested in her small girl existence that she starts talking. Later, in reflection, she supposes it's strange how she opens up so willingly. But he is surprisingly easy to talk to; she honestly cannot stop herself, hell, he'd make an excellent spy.

"4 actually. We all grew up in a townhouse right near the academy, so dad always wanted us to go there. Mark is chief medical officer on the _Carolina_, Milton's working in Europe. " She pauses and takes a sip of coffee and continues easily. "I'm the middle child, Campbell's studying as a pilot and Lucas is still in high school. I tell you with all those medical exams and pilot simulators I've had my fair share in handling stress." Kirk chuckles wiping round his mouth, the last remnants of the biscuit falling from his well formed face.

"I'll keep that in mind then. But what made you interested in engineering? Your family seems quite medical." She smiles, he sure knows how to make a girl feel interesting.

"Well my uncle came to live with use for a while and he got me into it, dad was a bit disappointed but he figured that since nearly all his sons where doctors he could spare a daughter." Kirk looks at her with a surprised expression.

"You don't mind being considered less?" She laughs airily.

"No it's not like that, he's just having a little trouble grasping my position but we're working on it. " She leans close. "Secretly I think he's worried for me." Kirk raised an eyebrow.

"How so?" She grins

"Because I'm on _your_ ship." There was a pause then they both burst out laughing.

"God that's so stupid, I'm not that infamous am I. Making _fathers_ worry, that's a new one." She nods.

"You are I'm afraid, I mean he knows you are brave and all but the huge risks are kind of making him go bald." He looks thoughtful then grins at her.

"Remind me to send him some hair formula with the thank you card." He pauses as she grins. "Actually I like that, the infamous thing, it probably makes me more dangerous and attractive." He raises a brow suggestively. She gapes and he grins. "Don't you think?" She shakes her head feverishly.

"No way, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." He gapes comically.

"Girl's love a bad boy," he says it with such a childish belief that she stares at him half spluttering half laughing.

"Well not one who has to decide between milk and soda." Kirk looks pensive for a moment and sighs.

"I guess you have a point, no self respecting bad boy would ever _consider_ milk as an option, "He looks at the can in his hand. "Actually why have I even got _this_? It should be vodka all the way baby" She laughs.

"No, just no" She chuckles and holds up her hands in despair. He looks disappointed but shrugs. "Well I guess it's back to just plain old Captain Kirk then." She pats his hand in mock sympathy, but can't ignore the warmth in his skin.

"It's ok I actually like the plain old Kirk, well at least the one I met today…Um." She trails off realizing she is being uncharacteristically mushy and making a complete fool out of herself. They look at each other for a moment, her biting her lip, him gazing enquiringly. She is the first to turn away, blushing lightly. She suspects a smirk has graced his face but doesn't look up as they descend into a comfortable silence. She soon begins her reorganization of Scotty's files and after a while she refills her coffee and sits down again. He is reading one of Scotty's pages of notes now, screwing up his nose in a funny mixture of confusion and annoyance. Annoyance at what she suspects is Scotty's complete disregard for neat handwriting. She looks at him while he gazes down absently now at the sheet of paper she had been 'organizing' he still looked tired but in better spirits. And it suddenly hits her how human he is. The way Scotty talks about him makes him out to be some sort of God. And between all the stories of heroic acts, that she has actually been a part of in some cases, it is easy to idolize him. But it is at that moment, when he was frowning at Scotty's appalling handwriting that she realizes exactly how normal he is. Well as normal as he can be. And as a 'normal guy' she supposes he needs all the things normal guys needs, be it food, drink, sleep or even sex (Although she highly doubts that she will ever be able to help with the last one). So she stands up took his soda from his hands and demands he go to bed. And surprisingly he did, without so much as a moan. She supposes he is just that tired.

"Lemon or Orange?"

She's working on the ship's electrical systems when he turns up out of the blue carrying two cans of soda. She can't see much except his feet from where she's lying under the main computer so she assumes it is soda he is talking about. She doesn't move so he uses his foot to roll her out. He's standing there in the ship regulation uniform despite the fact they docked 3 hours ago. Like she guessed there are two cans in his hands.

"Why are you here?" She wipes a hand across her brow and sits up. He raises an eyebrow in question. She rolls her eyes. "Lemon of course. You know I would have though after 3 months of drinking soda together you'd know what my favorite drink is." He hands her the ice cold beverage that she is secretly been hanging out for and then he is leaning on her workbench. When he moves to drink his can she can see a small sliver of torso become exposed. She can't help it. She stares. Starting back to the present when he kicks her trolley she squeaks in embarrassment.

"Checking me out?" He grins suggestively. She is used to it. Casual flirting has become a habit between them. It's surprisingly fun, the teasing that is, not when he decides to take an "accidental' grope during a meteor storm. His toes will never be the same after that incident. She raises an eyebrow.

"You were totally standing there for 10 minutes checking my legs before you talked to me." Kirk raises his hands in surrender.

"Guilty as charged." She laughs and whacks his calves with the diagrams she'd been referencing.

"Stop it you moron" They gulp down their drinks and sit in a comfortable silence. She is amazed by how much they've become friends. She couldn't think of a more unusual pair. But here they were. She suspects that he pretends he doesn't care that they're friends but it's the little things, like bringing her soda when he could easily be making out with Cassandra, his latest squeeze, that suggests otherwise.

"So how's Cassandra?" She can't think of anything else to talk about so she follows her train of thought. Kirk grimaces.

"She's out shopping with her 'girlfriends' " he says the last part with a painful expression gracing his features. She laughs lightly.

"Blondie and shoezilla?" He nods.

"The very same," he sighs and gulps some more soda. She stares, but looks away before he can tease her, she's been staring a lot lately, more than he knows. He continues after he's finished oblivious to her predicament. "She wants to surprise me with a new outfit to the social." She nods absently he looks at her strangely. "You alright?" She nods and smiles he narrows his eyes but doesn't comment on her discomfort again, instead; "you coming? To the social." She laughs, this time a hollow one.

"Do I look like the kind of person who attends _socials,_" she doesn't mean to be sharp but she's just being honest. She's never been social in her life so why would she go to something as social as a, well, social? He smirks.

"No but I thought you might want to come as a favor to your dear friend." He winks.

"I would but I can't see him anywhere," Kirk looks hurt. Though she knows he's kidding.

"That smarts Miranda, it really does. " Now it's her turn to smirk.

"I can't anyway," he raises an eyebrow in question. She stands up clumsily to answer him, almost tripping on her toolbox but gathers herself and leans close for the dramatic effect of the next sentence.

"I have a date." She says it like it's some big surprise. And it is, he stares for a second. Blinking.

"What?" It's almost a whisper, but that doesn't make sense, Kirk doesn't whisper. She brushes it off as surprise. After all she doesn't think he's never seen her even talk to a guy outside of the workroom and here she is going on a date. She places the now empty soda can on the bench and yawns, stretching her back out.

"He's one of my brother's friend, on the _Carolina, _andhe's the captain." She says it fast, excitedly. It's her first date, though she wouldn't admit that, after all who wants to be the 25 year old whose never been on a date. She's kissed a boy though so she's not a total prune but neither of these facts would be disclosed to someone as _accomplished_ as Kirk. "He doesn't believe in socials so we're going to a nice quiet restaurant to talk about proper things that don't involve Cindy's newest hair cut or Danielle's breakup." she grins at him. "As riveting as it must be. I mean I can't believe they still have socials for us! I thought we'd all be too old. "

"Ah," is all he says.

"Ah?" She looks at him disbelievingly. "That's all you can say? Ah? I'm going on a date with the hot, smart captain of the _Carolina_ and all you can say is ah?" She grins at him expectantly; "though I can't expect you to understand the huge significance of this venture, you're a guy after all." She nods, sipping and he taps the can he's holding on the side of the table.

"Carolina? That's a Freighter isn't it?" She sighs.

"Yeah so what, he's not some renegade starship captain, but he's still a captain." He scoffs.

"Pfft, any Joe nightly can be a freighter captain." She stares at him with disbelief gracing her face. He is sneering. She's never seen him sneer so it's a bit of a shock. She is more surprised though, by his attitude.

"Right, um are you ok James," he turns and looks at her when she says his Christian name, really looks at her. She'd like to say she got lost in his eyes but she'd be lying. Something more along the lines of taken aback would be more appropriate.

"No I'm not," he stands up and she realizes exactly how much taller than her he is. "You get a boyfriend and don't even think to tell me." She can practically feel the waves of aggression falling off of him. It intimidates her, but she doesn't back down.

"Ok for a start I didn't 'get a boyfriend' it's one date!" She ticks it off her hand. "Secondly Hugh worked damn hard to become a captain and thirdly." She pokes his chest. "Why do you even care?! You've never expressed an interest in my love life before now and one mention of a date you look like you've just been told your being demoted." She's breathing hard now, from her rant. "Who the hell appointed you my watcher or father or whatever you think you are?!" He slams his fist into the workbench and leans into her. He doesn't touch her but she can feel his breath tickling her brow. Her breath quickens and she anticipates whatever is going to happen next. But he doesn't say or do anything except pause for a long time. She vaguely wonders what he is thinking about.

"I," he starts after a while. "I'm sorry. I just…ah…got confused."

It's lame. Very lame and she doesn't buy it.

"Yeah well get out of here or I might get confused about where to hammer the nails in." In the end he leaves. They don't say another word, she's not sure if she's more confused about his behavior or about the fact that she is secretly thrilled he got so riled up about her love life.

* * *

"Fish or the chicken?"

For a second she looks up half expecting see him standing there with his roguish grin smiling down at her. But it's just the waiter. Of course. It's not like he has exclusive rights to asking her opinion, but still he seems about the only person that cares for it.

"Um fish," she vaguely hears a ''very good miss' before the waiter is gone and she is left alone with her dinner companion. The restaurant is nice, a quiet sanctuary in the heart of a busy city. The atmosphere is relaxing; the food is presumably the same. They sit in a quiet corner, overlooking the river. All in all it is a nice evening. She glances across the small table at Hugh. He is smiling at her, not a grin or a smirk, just a small smile. She gives him a small smile back, although she's not sure if it actually looks like one, it certainly feels unusually forced but his small smile doesn't fade. She can't understand it. It's not that Hugh is boring; nor is he stupid, ugly or a jerk. But she cannot get away from the nagging feeling that he is not _him_. It's stupid she knows. After all why would she want him to be like _him_. He is everything _he_ is not. He is responsible and doesn't take stupid risks. He is a stable man who treats a woman well and doesn't scare the hell out off them by offering them drinks while they've got their head in a wall trying to rewire the c deck's heating system. Hugh tells her about what he does and where he goes. He's been telling her all about the _Carolina_, contrary to Kirk's belief it actually seems quite a complicated business this freighter thing, although personally she prefers the Starship mechanics to the freighter's, much more modern and up to date. She inquires about her brother, he is well. The last freight they shipped went perfectly, except for a minor encounter with some stray asteroids that weren't detected. Hugh is still giving her that small smile. It's becoming unsettling. There is no clear emotion behind it, not like with Kirk. With Kirk you know if he's happy or annoyed or whatever. She's pissed. Even when he's not there he's there. In her mind pointing out stupid things like Hugh's smile and his mafia boss shoes. Who even wears mafia boss shoes these days?!? It's the 23rd freaking century for Christ's sake! She shakes her head to clear Kirk's voice. Hugh can wear whatever he likes. She is certainly not there to comment on his fashion choices. She just wants to get through the evening without screaming randomly. God she's loosing her mind. Hugh looks at her weirdly.

"Are you ok?" She smiles, determined to forget about Kirk and have a good time.

"Yeah, sorry I had a bit of a headache but I'm fine now." She takes a plate that has just been brought from the waiter. "Thanks." The waiter nods, she looks at Hugh, inhaling deeply. "Mmmmhhh! Smells great!"

They finish their food and pay the check. Hugh graciously gets it all, he even opens her door and gets her jacket. Not like. No she doesn't even want to say his name. Hugh asks her if she wants to take a walk down near the docks. She agrees but then wishes that maybe she hadn't as it happens rather quickly. There she is walking calmly alongside Hugh when suddenly without the slightest bit of foreplay he's got her pushed up against an alley wall. She's more surprised than disgusted. He's not a bad kisser and it's not altogether unpleasant, but a warning would have been nice. She tries to tell him to stop by pushing him away. He responds by pushing his tongue through her lips. This is annoying, she may not have dated before but she's not a total loss, she's read enough _Cosmo_ to know what is acceptable on a first date and this is not. She grabs his hands, which are touching her roughly. She pushes him again, harder this time. His mouth disengages with hers with a surprisingly loud pop.

"Hey c'mon I though we were cool." She scoffs.

"We were. Until you put your tongue down my throat!" She grimaces and he pushes her further up against the wall.

"Aw geez Miranda, give me a break. You were asking for it." He gives her a once over. "With a hot body like that being shown off what do you expect me to do?" She panics for a minute. What can she do? He's stronger and bigger than her. "You're brother said you were a real tomboy but fucking hell you scrub up." She tries to bite back but he's kissing her neck. As much as she hates to admit it does feel nice, nice and tingly. She shouldn't feel like this but she can almost imagine another body, another kiss, and another face. She lets out a small gasp and a voice accompanies it.

"I knew you'd come around" She starts, brought harshly but thankfully back to reality. He's not _him. _He's a total jerk who tried to basically rape her. She doesn't want or need him and he is a totally disrespecting kisser. Case in point his tongue is back in her mouth. Suddenly her first year Physical ED class comes back to her. He collapses, clutching at his groin.

"Sorry Hugh I just remembered I need to feed my goldfish." She chuckles at her lame comeback, straightens her dress and steps over him trying to remain dignified even with the smeared lipstick and swollen lips. The tingling on her skin is fading. She is disappointed, she really liked him. But what she said was true, she has to do something, but it's not feed her goldfish.

* * *

The lights in the club are bright. Too bright. She blinks back tears. She doesn't know when she started crying or even why. But now she is she realizes it's very impractical when you need to find someone. She tugs on the sleeve of a crew member she recognizes as a friend of his.

"Kirk. Where's Kirk." The dark skinned girl looks at her curiously.

"Um he went through the side door with Cass," she moves to point it out. "But I don't think you'll want to interrupt then, they were having a pretty heavy fight!" She calls after the smaller girl as she rushes off in the direction mentioned. She moves through the crowd of bodies to the small blue door, and turns the handle quickly. Raised voices reach her ears.

"I don't care anymore! Just leave me alone Jim, I don't want to be your girlfriend anymore if you're gonna keep getting pissed at me." She peers meekly round the corner, and thinks maybe she should have heeded the girl's warning.

"I was only pissed because you were practically humping another guy!" His face is screaming anger, and his lip is curled in annoyance, she can't see Cassandra's face but her body language suggests the same.

"Oh so now _I'm_ the one messing around." She flicks her head back. "That bitch in engineering. Megan or whatever it is. Don't you think I know how much time you spend with her." It is evidently the wrong sentence to utter as a loud bang sends both Cassandra and Miranda jumping in fright. His hand is leaning, bruised against the wall.

"Don't talk about her like that!" He glares more sharply than she's ever seen before. "We're….we're just friends, Cass."

"Yeah keep telling yourself that, I see how you look at her," she scoffs. "And you must be the stupidest fucking idiot in the world not to see it in her eyes too." There is a pause and then a quiet sob. "I can handle you flirting and messing around a bit but I don't want to be in a relationship with a guy who is pining after someone he's too gutless to admit he's in love with. Lust is easy, love, it's a whole new ball game."

There is silence, a pause.

"Do us both a favor and get over yourself." It is surprisingly deep a tirade for such a stereotypical bimbo. There is a clench in her stomach and she can feel the tears swelling again. Not here not with them.

But then Cass turns and stops immediately as she catches sight of Miranda. There is more silence. She waits for a sting, a movement, anything. But surprisingly nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing except the sense of bodies moving in the corridor, but nothing seems to register properly. He doesn't say a word after Cass leaves, and then his own departure is as mute. It is probably better that way. And in a way it is the best thing that could happen, she never liked Cass much anyway, and now she has a chance but the fact that she essentially was the breaking point of a relationship is all to painfully real, and she feels numb.

* * *

It is a week before she sees him again, their normal routine despondent, left in the dust. In the end it is an opinion that brings him back. How ironic.

"Is Scotty here?" His voice is so unexpected she falls off the ladder. Why is he here? She can't stand to even look at him, hearing his voice over the speaker system is bad enough. Massaging her backside she turns and faces him.

"Uh, no, sorry Captain," he stares at her like he is from a different planet. Then clears his throat.

"Ah well maybe you could help," he hands her a piece of paper. "It's Commander Spock's designs for an upgrade for the navigation system. He asked me to bring them down. You know with his class and all, he was, ah, busy?." It's got to be the first time she's ever seen him so nervous. She is nervous too. But also in awe.

"These are brilliant!" She takes an appreciative breath "Wow, he is really good." She nods her head optimistically, then frowns. "Um so what do you want me to do with them exactly?" He scratches his neck nervously.

"Nothing, he err just wanted an opinion." There is a pregnant pause. He turns to leave. It is the most awkward experience of her life. The tension is so thick you could slice it with a knife. She frowns, sighs and grasps the ladder in again. She has neither the time nor energy to deal with this, her heart can't take anymore wayward confessions or rejections (You haven't been rejected yet) it is an annoying voice.

"I was trying to pick you up," she turns so sharply the ladder falls this time and looks up at him quizzically. "In the supermarket."

"Why?" She reaches and pulls off her goggles to get a better look at him, to try and work out what the hell he's going on about, to try and quench the excitement that is welling rapidly inside her. But her heart is going a million miles a minute.

"Because you're beautiful." He says it like it's the most natural thing to say. She vaguely remembers her reflection from the morning. Scraggly chin length hair. Peaky nose, grime and grease everywhere. Beautiful?

"So beautiful," he is gazing at her. "And then you were so friendly, and you treated me like a person, like a friend. Do you know how hard it is to find someone so honest?" She shakes her head.

"I'm not honest." He shakes his head.

"You are." She shakes her head.

"Not about everything." And she kisses him. Hard, needy and wet. Her small calloused hands cup his strong jaw and press her lips harder against his own. Coming up for air she removes her hands from his neck slowly and rests her forehead against his own. He mimics the action. "I've been lying to myself from day one." She smiles. "I am so hugely attracted to you."

He hoists her onto a bench and kisses her again. Small peppery kisses that smell like musk and something distinctly male

"It's the bad boy thing isn't it?"

"You wish."


End file.
